If your neighborhood school meets your child's and family's needs, you can relax and register your child in the spring before the school year begins. However, if you are interested in a private school education or believe that one of the alternative public elementary schools or specialized programs would be a better fit for your child, you need to start searching for schools a year before your child will start school. This section will help you understand the differences between the New York City public and private elementary schools as well as explain how to navigate the public and private school admissions process.

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The application process for public and private elementary schools varies by school. For some schools, you only need to register to be accepted. However, other private and public selective elementary schools admit students on the basis of one or more of the following items:

Application and essay

Recommendations from a former preschool teacher

Student and parent interviews and entrance exams

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Before you look at different elementary schools, you need to understand your child’s educational profile as well as clarify your family's educational goals and practical concerns. This section will help you ask the right questions to identify the characteristics of schools that will best suit your child's and family's needs.

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There are over 900 public and private elementary schools in New York City, and all of them have their own personalities and differ by educational approach, structure, size, cost, grades served and other characteristics. This section discusses the various types of public and private elementary schools in New York City.

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Elementary Schools

Children are not required to attend school until they are 6 years old; however, any child whose 5th birthday is before December 31st of the year he or she starts school is entitled to attend a public kindergarten program. If you are interested in sending your child to a kindergarten program that is not housed in your neighborhood public school, we recommend that you start your search for private schools and/or alternative public elementary schools a full year before s/he will start kindergarten. There are over 900 public and private elementary schools, all of which have their own personalities. You will need a great deal of time to tour different schools to identify the schools to which you want to apply and complete the application process which may involve writing an essay, student and parent interviews as well as an entrance exam.

The remainder of the elementary school parent guide will help you:

Understand the public and private elementary school admissions process

Navigating the admissions process to both the public and private school systems can be daunting. Depending on the child’s age, parents have to submit applications with supporting materials which may include transcripts, personal statements, and recommendations from teachers and friends. Children have to take standardized tests to enroll in most private schools and selective public schools. Parents will visit several schools during which time they may be interviewed by administrators and/or teachers. Finally, children are often interviewed to allow the schools to determine whether they are a good fit. Although the application process typically begins after Labor Day one year before the child will enroll in school, parents have to decide to which schools to apply much earlier to allow for sufficient time to complete the applications and gather the appropriate materials.

Elementary School Entrance Exams

Most private and selective public elementary schools require their applicants to take an entrance exam. The private schools require students to take a standardized test commonly called the “ERBs”. To enroll in a district or citywide Gifted and Talented Program, children must take the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). Hunter College Elementary School requires the Stanford-Binet test. Please look at the handout section near the bottom of this page to learn more about the elementary school entrance exams.

Please see the handout section near the bottom of the parent guide to learn tips regarding the school tours, student and parent interviews, reference letters, entrance exams, admissions officers' pet peeves, admissions decisions as well as financial aid and scholarships.

Regardless of your child’s skill development and interests, parents may also have academic goals and/or practical considerations that are important. Some educational issues that you may want to consider are:

Once you have a clear understanding of your goals as well as your child’s academic and social profile, you are ready to identify the schools that would be a good fit. The following are some characteristics you will want to consider:

To help parents navigate the elementary school admissions process, the website has a school finder as well as a school comparison tool that will allow parents to identify a set of schools that meet your child's and family's needs as well as compare these schools' characteristics (e.g., educational philosophy, cost, test scores, attendance rates). Please click on the School Finder tab for more information about this service.

Handouts

Moreover, the website has handouts that help parents prepare for the school tours, child and parent interviews and entrance exams. Please click on the following links to download the handouts:

We also provide more personal services to help parents navigate the elementary school admissions process, including eduprofile, workshops and confidential private consulting. To learn how to purchase these services, please click on the Our Services Tab.

Eduprofile

We have created a survey that will help us determine your child’s educational profile as well as your family’s educational goals and practical concerns. More specifically, the survey asks you about your child’s basic learning capacity, skill development, special interests, learning styles, motivation to learn, social temperament and disabilities. In addition, the questionnaire asks parents questions regarding the importance of various educational characteristics (e.g., what content is emphasized, teaching methods, classroom behavior management approach and school community) as well as any practical considerations that are important, including the school’s type, location, educational approach, schedule, transportation, and cost. Once we have reviewed the survey, we will send you information about your child’s educational profile as well as a list of schools that we think will meet your child’s and family’s needs.

The second workshop, preparing students for the elementary school entrance exams, explains the rationale behind the admissions tests required by many elementary schools. Parents will also learn how to prepare your child to be as comfortable as possible on the date of the test.

Individual Consulting Services

We provide individual consulting services to parents who would like help navigating the public and private elementary school admissions process. More specifically, we can help parents with any one or all of the following steps: